Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 234

"Beast Wave Palm!"

"Raigo: Thousand Hand Strike!"

"Rasengan!"

Faced with the rapidly spreading swamp of malevolent intent, Sora, Chiriku, and Naruto each unleashed their unique techniques, blasting open one gaping hole after another in the swamp.

Of the three, Chiriku's Thousand Hand Strike had the most destructive power. A massive statue of Thousand-Armed Kannon emerged behind him, its chakra fists pounding endlessly, successfully halting the swamp's spread within a certain range.

Beside him, Naruto and Sora also did their best to launch energy attacks at the grotesque swamp. However, their efforts merely slowed its advance, unable to fully stop the encroachment.

"This isn't working. Step aside for now," Jiraiya ordered.

Biting his thumb, Jiraiya quickly weaved hand seals before slamming his palm onto the ground. In an instant, a massive toad appeared in the area untouched by the swamp's corruption.

Seeing the toad, whose head nearly touched the cavern ceiling, Chiriku and Sora were visibly startled, but Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Boss!"

"Yo!" Gamabunta instinctively responded to the title "Boss."

But the situation left no room for pleasantries. Jiraiya's urgent command immediately refocused Gamabunta on the battlefield.

"Use that move!"

"Jiraiya, what the hell are these things?"

To Gamabunta's eyes, the entire cavern floor was overrun by an unholy mass of indescribable filth, the sheer sight of which was utterly revolting.

"No time to explain—use maximum firepower!"

"Got it!"

Gamabunta's massive belly visibly swelled at an alarming rate. Once it reached its limit, a deluge of oil gushed out, soaking the cavern floor.

Jiraiya then unleashed his Fire Release technique, spewing flames that instantly ignited the oil.

"Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!"

The once phosphorescent-green cavern was instantly consumed by a roaring orange inferno. Strangely, instead of a sizzling sound like meat on a grill, the swamp emitted countless anguished wails.

Under the searing flames, innumerable souls screamed in torment. Though their words were incomprehensible, the sheer despair in their cries unsettled the four humans present.

It felt disturbingly like a massacre, as though these hellish flames were burning living humans rather than the swamp.

The harrowing cacophony continued for what felt like an eternity before finally fading. The oil Gamabunta had spilled was almost completely burned away.

The grotesque swamp, once stained with crimson and fleshy white filth, had been reduced to a scorched black wasteland.

The intense heat radiating from the ground suggested that everything had been incinerated by the Toad Flame Bomb.

Relief washed over everyone.

"Is it over?"

"Amitabha."

Those on the ground eased their tense stances. However, Jiraiya, perched atop Gamabunta's head, couldn't shake a lingering unease.

Some instinct told him that not everything had been destroyed by the fire.

Sure enough, his elevated vantage point allowed him to spot something unusual.

In the farthest corner of the cavern, a plume of dust was moving toward them.

And it wasn't just that—within the ruins of the ancient structures scattered across the cavern floor, countless faint noises began to stir.

Squeak...

Hiss...

These were the loathsome sounds of rodents—the nightmare-inducing flesh-eating rats that had plagued the monks of the Fire Temple for the past month.

In the shadows of every ruined structure, pairs of glowing crimson eyes stared at the four humans standing in the open.

For some unknown reason, the green phosphorescence that had once illuminated the cavern was gradually dimming, and now it was almost completely extinguished. 

"Jiraiya!" 

"I know!" 

Jiraiya immediately understood what Gamabunta was signaling. Forming hand seals, they prepared to use the same technique from earlier. 

"Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!" 

Once again, Jiraiya and Gamabunta unleashed their combined technique, attempting to bring some light to the increasingly dark cavern. 

Just as the green phosphorescence completely faded, the massive flames took over as the primary source of light, preventing the cavern from falling into total darkness. 

However, the intense heat generated by the two Toad Flame Bomb, trapped in the nearly sealed cavern, had nowhere to dissipate. The temperature inside had already risen above 40 degrees Celsius. 

Under such conditions, Jiraiya could no longer afford to use the Toad Flame Bomb again. 

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he muttered, "Looks like we'll have to rely on close combat." 

In the flickering firelight, the red glow from the eyes of the carnivorous rats could still be seen glinting ominously. 

For now, the flames held the swarm of rats at bay, but once the fires burned out, the cavern would be plunged into complete darkness, and the horde of rats would close in. 

Meanwhile, on the ground beneath Gamabunta, Chiriku, Naruto, and Sora were already locked in a fierce battle. 

Countless carnivorous rats swarmed out from the ancient ruins, and the three of them fought desperately with their weapons: Naruto wielding his kunai, Sora using his clawed weapons, and Chiriku relying on his bare hands. 

Although the firelight from afar illuminated much of the cavern, Gamabunta's massive body cast a large shadow over their immediate area, plunging them into near-darkness. 

To avoid accidentally hurting one another, Chiriku immediately instructed the three to spread out and refrain from using any ninjutsu. 

But this strategy came with a cost: without ninjutsu, their taijutsu techniques couldn't achieve perfect coordination in the darkness. Several rats managed to leap onto Naruto, Chiriku, and Sora's backs, finding and exploiting the blind spots in their defenses. 

The rats began tearing into their targets with their sharp teeth, biting at their backs relentlessly. 

And the situation was no better for Gamabunta. Dozens of carnivorous rats had swarmed around his legs and were now biting into his flesh. 

Their razor-sharp teeth tore into Gamabunta's thick skin, even managing to hurt the toad boss, who howled in pain. 

"Ow! It hurts! It hurts!" 

Instinctively, Gamabunta began hopping up and down, trying to shake off the rats. But the rats had already sunk their claws into his flesh, clinging to him tightly. No matter how hard he jumped, only a few of them fell off. 

Instead, Gamabunta's massive weight caused the ground to shake violently with every hop. Naruto and the others on the ground struggled to maintain their footing, and even the monks of the Fire Temple above felt the tremors from underground. 

On the surface, the monks of the Fire Temple, confused and unsteady on their feet, tried to stabilize themselves, unaware of the chaos unfolding below them. 

And beneath the Fire Temple, a giant creature was "dancing" frantically. 

"Calm down! Stop jumping around!" 

"They're biting the flesh off my butt!" 

Gamabunta howled in protest, leaving Jiraiya with no choice but to release the summoning jutsu. 

In such a confined underground space, Gamabunta's large size was more of a hindrance than an advantage. 

Moreover, Jiraiya feared that if Gamabunta continued jumping like that, the entire foundation of the Fire Temple might collapse. 

But without Gamabunta's support, how could they possibly deal with the situation now?

Jiraiya, who landed on the ground, immediately joined Naruto and the others, forming a fragile temporary defensive line of four people, protecting each other's backs as much as possible.

However, the overwhelming numbers of the man-eating rats continued to compress their defensive line.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto had already used the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu earlier, but the clones didn't last long and were quickly destroyed.

Naruto's signature tactic of overwhelming numbers was no longer effective. Even if he created dozens of shadow clones, as long as the clones were simultaneously attacked by multiple rats, their fragile defenses would break instantly, causing them to vanish.

The others were struggling even more. Although a ninja's taijutsu could ensure they wouldn't end up like ordinary people, who would be swarmed and left with nothing but a tattered shell of skin, they were barely holding on.

Before long, everyone, including Jiraiya, was injured. Bites covered their shoulders, thighs, and calves, leaving wounds from the rats' sharp teeth.

Of course, the rats paid a price too. On the ground in front of Jiraiya and Naruto, hundreds of rat corpses were scattered haphazardly. 

But such losses were insignificant for the man-eating rats. In the ruins of the buildings, waves upon waves of the small, dark creatures kept surging forward.

Perhaps due to prolonged starvation, these rats charged fearlessly, with no concept of the fear of death. All they saw was food that could ease their hunger.

In such a situation, wide-area destructive ninjutsu would have been the best option.

Unfortunately, they were in an underground cavern, with the Fire Temple directly above. Using large-scale destructive techniques, especially explosive ones, could potentially collapse the temple's foundation.

This forced the ninjas to hold back.

At that moment, Jiraiya was eager to use Sage Mode. With the boost from senjutsu, he could eliminate a large portion of the rats without damaging the Fire Temple's foundation.

But entering Sage Mode required Jiraiya to gather chakra in advance, during which he couldn't be disturbed—especially with his hands needing to remain still.

If they stayed here, the rats would occasionally leap onto him. The unbearable pain and itching would make it impossible to keep his hands still, no matter how strong his willpower.

After weighing his options, Jiraiya decided to retreat to the surface first. Once he gathered enough Sage Chakra, he would return to settle the battle.

"Retreat to the surface!" 

Jiraiya's shout was immediately met with agreement. Naruto and Chiriku began retreating while fighting.

The surroundings grew darker as the light from the toad oil flame bomb gradually dimmed. It became difficult for everyone to see each other's positions.

When the ninjas finally retreated to the steps at the cave's entrance, they realized someone was missing.

"Where's Sora?" 

Chiriku glanced at the group and saw only three people. He asked anxiously.

Jiraiya looked ahead. The cave had fallen into complete darkness, with no trace of the oil flame bomb's glow or the original green phosphorescence.

In the darkness, all they could sense was the countless squeaking sounds ahead. The chorus of tens of thousands of rats created an utterly terrifying noise.

As for Sora, using the most rational judgment, he had likely been swallowed by the sea of rats.

Not to mention Sora alone—hundreds of people in that horrifying darkness would have been devoured in an instant, with no chance to resist.

But just as Jiraiya and Chiriku inevitably considered the worst-case scenario, Naruto spoke up with a different tone.

"He's still alive! I can feel it!"

"Forget it. I appreciate your kindness," Chiriku said regretfully, shaking his head. Though he and Sora's father, Kazuma, had once been political adversaries, Chiriku had never directed his animosity at Kazuma's son. He had raised Sora with care.

However, from a rational perspective, it was impossible for Sora to survive in that darkness. Attempting a rescue would only lead to more senseless deaths.

But before Chiriku could voice the logical conclusion in his mind, Naruto had already turned and leaped into the darkness. In an instant, his orange-yellow figure was swallowed up.

"Hey!"

Chiriku reached out, trying to grab Naruto, but Jiraiya placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Let's trust him for now," Jiraiya said. "We should head back to the surface to prepare, and then come back down immediately to rescue him. That'll be more efficient."

Chiriku glanced again at the impenetrable darkness, where the relentless screeches of carnivorous rats echoed. He had no choice but to follow Jiraiya up the stairs.

As Jiraiya left, he took one last deep look into the darkness.

Naruto, you better make it out alive.

Meanwhile, Naruto had barely taken a few steps into the darkness when the piercing squeals of the flesh-eating rats surrounded him. They lunged at his body, their sharp teeth bared.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A swarm of shadow clones appeared around Naruto, engaging the incoming rats in combat. Taking advantage of the distraction, Naruto dashed toward the direction his heart instinctively told him to follow.

For some reason, Naruto felt certain that Sora was still alive. Not only that, he could somehow sense where Sora was.

It was a strange sensation, like some kind of twin-like telepathic connection, though Naruto knew full well that he and Sora weren't twins.

As the distance between them closed, Naruto's perception of Sora's chakra grew sharper.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Poof! Poof!

Two more shadow clones appeared at Naruto's feet. He shouted at them, "Throw me!"

The clones understood immediately. Grabbing Naruto by his legs, they hurled him in the direction of the chakra he was sensing.

As soon as Naruto left their hands, the clones were swarmed by dozens of rats and instantly ripped apart, dissipating into smoke.

Naruto, propelled by the clones' throw, soared above the rat swarm for a brief moment before landing on the ground a short distance away.

Not far from where he landed, Naruto heard a familiar voice.

"Beast Wave Palm!"

"Beast Wave Palm!"

Sora's chakra was nearly depleted. The Beast Wave Palm jutsu he unleashed barely managed to knock away one or two rats at a time—it wasn't even strong enough to kill them.

Despite his desperate situation, Sora wasn't staying to fight by choice. His legs had completely lost all feeling, making it impossible for him to move.

Looking down, Sora saw his legs swarming with rats. Blood flowed from gaping wounds, and the rodents were greedily gnawing at his flesh and tendons.

The only thing keeping Sora upright was the last shred of willpower that remained within him. The movements of his hands were nothing more than a final, futile struggle before succumbing.

Is this the end?

Sora's heart was filled with boundless regret. But regret, as he knew, would remain just that—regret. No one could possibly penetrate the sea of rats to save him now.

Resigned, Sora let his hands fall to his sides, no longer intending to resist.

But just then, a burst of brilliant orange-red chakra pierced through the darkness, scattering the rat swarm. Its radiant glow lit up Sora's despair-filled eyes.

This light, which once symbolized hatred and destruction, now appeared to Sora as a beacon of hope.

"You stubborn idiot!"

"I won't let you give up!"